DAVENPORT, Fla. — Polk County Sheriff's Office deputies say they are searching for the driver responsible for shooting a man on Interstate 4 over the weekend in Davenport.
An investigation started around 2:15 a.m. Sunday when deputies were called to the off-ramp to U.S. Highway 27 from I-4 in Davenport. Deputies say they found a man near his white Dodge truck who had been shot while exiting I-4.
They believed he was driving westbound on I-4 and just exited to go onto Highway 27. The man, later identified as 58-year-old Kevin Berry, was rushed to a local hospital. In an updated news release on Tuesday evening, the sheriff's office said Berry was removed from life support and pronounced dead at 6:25 p.m.
Deputies say they believe someone in another car shot the man and then kept on driving.
At a press conference on Monday afternoon, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd identified Berry as the man shot, saying the truck driver was on his way to work at the time of the shooting.
Judd added that deputies have heard from one witness who said they saw Berry's truck getting into a road rage confrontation with the driver of a dark, compact two-door car with a luggage rack. The witness then drove around the cars.
Judd says there are at least three more drivers who should have witnessed the confrontation, whether they realized it at the time or not. The sheriff's office is hoping to speak to any of those other drivers.
"We know there are witnesses, we know he came from Altamont Springs, we know that he always showed up for work early. We also know that he was known to be hotheaded if he was challenged. So according to friends, if someone started a road rage incident, he would push back," Judd said. "We need to know who shot this man and why."
Anyone who may have seen or heard anything suspicious in the area during the early morning hours on Oct. 15 is asked to contact the sheriff's office and reference case number 23-42221.
People with information who would like to remain anonymous can contact Heartland Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-226-8477, dialing **TIPS on your cellphone or by going online here. Heartland Crime Stoppers will also be offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of a suspect involved in the incident.